It is, of course, generally known to utilize paddles and flippers to enable a user to move through a fluid, such as, for example, an amount of water. Indeed, water flippers, otherwise known as swim fins, are finlike accessories that are typically worn on the foot or leg and made from rubber, plastic or combinations of these materials, to aid movement through the water in water sports activities such as swimming, bodyboarding, bodysurfing, knee boarding, river boarding, underwater hockey, underwater rugby and various other types of underwater diving.
Swim fins generally help the wearer to move through water more efficiently, as human feet are typically too small and inappropriately shaped to provide much thrust, especially when the wearer is carrying equipment that increases hydrodynamic drag. Very long fins and monofins used by freedivers as a means of underwater propulsion do not require high frequency leg movement. This improves efficiency and helps to minimize oxygen consumption. Short, stiff-bladed fins are effective for short bursts of acceleration and maneuvering, and are useful for bodysurfing.
Swim fins were proposed by Leonardo Da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin. It was not until 1914 that the first practical demonstration of a pair of swim fins was made by inventor Louis de Corlieu, a captain in the French Navy. Variations of the first swim fins developed over the years, and today swim fins come in many types of shapes and sizes, and are made from various materials, depending on their application.
Swim fins, as noted above, are generally worn on the legs and/or feet. As such, they are used to propel a wearer in one direction by kicking against the fluid in the opposite direction. Wearers use scissor kicks, frog kicks, or dolphin kicks for propulsion. Typically, swim fins are not required to move against the direction of desired motion.
When a person is swimming through water, his hands and arms typically move differently than the legs and feet. Legs and feet generally move back-and-forth or in a kicking motion, and generally do not have to move against the movement of the fluid. However, a swimmer must rotate their arms in order to get the hands into a position to aid in pushing the body through the water. This means that the hands and arms must typically move in the direction of movement, and against the fluid. A swimmer tends to minimize the surface area of his or her hands when moving them in the direction of movement to minimize the interaction of the surface area of the hands against the fluid.
Heretofore, swim fins are not generally suitable for use on a wearer's hands because swim fins typically have a surface area that cannot be easily or readily changed when swim fins are moving against the fluid in which the wearer is moving. Thus, swim fins have not heretofore been adapted for hands to be used in the same manner as they are used on legs and/or feet.
Swimming gloves are known that aid a wearer in moving through a fluid such as water. Swim gloves typically have individual fingers with webbing therebetween. When a wearer moves his or her hand against the fluid, the wearer can keep the fingers close together to minimize the surface area. When the wearer moves his or her hand with the fluid to provide further propulsion through the fluid, the user can open his or her fingers to increase the interaction of the fluid on the webbing. However, while swim gloves can provide some propulsion, the webbing provided does not typically provide a large amount of surface area to interact with the fluid through which a wearer is moving, so the amount of propulsion is fairly minimal. In addition, in some cases, in order to increase the surface area, the webbing and other features on the gloves are increased, or made stiffer, which decreases the wearer's ability to use his or her fingers and hands for other functions without removing the gloves.
A need, therefore, exists for hand-held paddle apparatuses to aid a wearer in moving his or her body through a fluid, such as water. Moreover, a need exists for hand-held paddle apparatuses that may be worn on a user's hand and may be easily removed when desired.
Further, a need exists for hand-held paddle apparatuses that may be useful to move a wearer through a fluid, but does not impede a wearer from moving through the fluid when the hands are moved against the fluid. Still further, a need exists for hand-held paddle apparatuses that provide increased surface area when the paddle apparatuses move in the direction of the fluid movement, and provide decreased surface area when the paddle apparatuses move against the direction of the fluid movement, thereby maximizing propulsion against the fluid, and minimizing drag with the fluid.
In addition, a need exists for hand-held paddle apparatuses that may provide for unrestricted movement and use of the hands and, more specifically, the fingers of the wearer's hands when being worn. Specifically, a need exists for hand-held paddle apparatuses that allow a user to use his or her hands for other functions, such as holding other items, when wearing the paddle apparatuses.